The fez
The fortune cookies came with the bills. John opened his cookie, and the message read:
"John, There's 10,000 currency units in a paper sack in the black trash can in the alley. To earn it, reach under the table, fire the gun that's hanging there, and kill the man across from you. You only have one bullet, so don't miss. One more thing: If you don't shoot him, he'll shoot you."
John reached beneath the table, and for the first time realized that a gun was hanging there. Closing his hand around the gun's cold steel butt, he looked across the table. The large man sitting there adjusted his fez, cracked his own cookie, and read the fortune. He arched his eyebrows, then began to reach under the table. John squeezed the trigger. There was a soft thud The large man shuddered, looked at John, then slumped forward into the remains of his Peking Duck. His fez rolled into the soup. Patrons at neighboring tables glanced over, then returned to their meals.
John pushed back his chair and stood up. A waiter across the room smiled at him, and pointed to the kitchen door. John pushed through it and walked into the kitchen. Around him, cooks chattered in Cantonese and chopped ingredients. One cook put down his cleaver, grabbed John's sleeve, and led him to a back exit. John stepped out into an alley. The door shut behind him. The trash can next to him was black. Seeing that he still held the gun, John dropped it into the trash can, and pulled out a paper sack. He opened the sack and peered inside. Inside was a stored value card. He pocketed the card, threw the sack back into the trash can, and headed for his air car.
He was parked across the street from the restaurant. He climbed in, turned on the repulsors, and tried to take off. The car didn't move. It said, "John, there's an emergency vehicle within fifty feet. Take-off is prohibited." John looked out the window, For the first time, he noticed that there was an ambulance floating in front of the restaurant. Assisted by two robots, the driver was loading the man he had shot into a body bag. John pressed a button to opaque his windows.
A few minutes later, the computer said "The emergency vehicle is now gone. We may take off. Destination?"
"Sector C6. Building 387-DJ. Floor 57."
"The Monolith Bar?"
"Yes."
The air car took off. "Distance to Monolith Bar: 816.7 miles. Estimated travel time: 37 minutes." John pulled the stored value card from his pocket and put it into a slot on the dashboard. The computer said, "Value remaining on card: 10,000 currency units."
"Accounting. Pay my landlord the back rent I owe him. Pay delinquent charges for water, electricity, net access, and gas."
"Done. Value remaining on card: 2,023 units. John, you have a videophone call."
"Is it collect?"
"No."
"Accept the call and project it on the windshield."
A derezzed face appeared on his windshield. It appeared as a collection of small, flickering squares, like genitals in an old Japanese porno movie. A distorted voice said, "John, well done. Many here had been betting against you, but in the end, you proved me correct. I look forward to working with you again in the future."
"Wait, who are you? Why did you do this?"
The computer said, "The caller has disconnected."
"Can you trace the source of the call?"
"Caller ID was blocked."
John closed his eyes and took a nap. "Shit. Wake me when we get to the Monolith Bar."